Macedonians find it harder to buy a flat in Skopje than Greeks in Thessaloniki

Despite the fact that the average price per square meter in Skopje is lower than in several more attractive cities in the region, according to average salaries Macedonian citizens will need more pay periods to buy an apartment. For the comparison official statistical data from institutions in five countries were used: Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Greece and Albania.

In Skopje's central area, Centar, the average price per square meter is €1,950.

What the prices mean in terms of working years

In Tirana the average price per square meter is €2,500, while in the Albanian coastal cities such as Vlora, Durrës and Saranda the average is approximately €2,200. In Montenegro, the price of new apartments in Podgorica is €2,510/m², while in the coastal towns Bar, Budva, Herceg Novi, Kotor, Tivat and Ulcinj it exceeds €2,800/m². Thessaloniki averages around €2,650/m², while Belgrade exceeds €2,900/m².

Analyzed according to the average net wage, with an average wage of €787 in Macedonia, buying a 50 m² apartment in Skopje's Centar will require a total of 124 such salaries — that is about 10 years and 4 months of full earnings dedicated solely to the purchase.

For comparison, with an average wage of €1,100, Greeks could buy a similar apartment in central Thessaloniki in exactly 10 years. Montenegrins with an average wage of €1,036 will need about 10 years and 1 month for an apartment in Podgorica, while for a seaside apartment they will need almost 11 and a half years. Serbs, whose average wage is €1,027, for an apartment in central Belgrade will need approximately 11 years and 10 months.

Albania has the lowest average wage in the example — €782 (only €5 lower than the Macedonian), but higher prices mean that in Tirana it will take nearly 13 and a half years of wages for a 50 m² apartment, and for a seaside apartment about 11 years and 9 months.

Author: Mirjana Joveska

Photo: press material from the event